This page: Rare post-war photograph of a 1930's Dodge with coachbuilt hearse bodywork.

1936 Dodge hearse.

Declan kindly emailed over this photograph, and agreed to it being added to the gallery. Cropped slightly to better show the lead vehicle, it shows a pre-war Dodge hearse on duty in Ireland in 1952. The cortege is passing a line of parked cars, most visible being an Austin A40 Devon in black. Further away, a 10cwt Fordson/Thames van is parked.

(Please click the thumbnail to view full-size image.)

Please note the copyright for this photo remains with the Foley/Jenkins collection. Declan adds:

Attached a photo of a 1936 Dodge Hearse (taken in 1952). The chassis/cab was imported by O'Neill's of Dublin the Dodge concessionaires for the Republic of Ireland until the late 1960s, and supplied through O'Connor's Garage and Hotel Sligo. The body was built by Fahy's of Galway, a leading coachbuilder of the day. The design was licenced from Alpe & Saunders of Kew.

It was in use until 1961 when sadly it was scrapped. The ram emblem is still in the family. The last funeral it was used for, it was driven by an uncle of mine and he took me with him (I was 9), and he said, "She was a flyer in her day".

The 1930's Dodge shown in the above photo is similar to, and arguably slightly more elegant than, a Dodge that was sold at a garage local to me a few years back. Also dating to 1936 or thereabouts, the front end tinwork (also used on pickups and vans of that era) looks identical. The rear side windows featured very ornate detailing from memory. Last I heard it was with a new owner, pending light restoration. The Dodge in question is featured in a photo gallery elsewhere on the site, and repeated below for comparison with the hearse shown in Ireland at the head of this page.